


Thank You For The Money

by SanjeevNeelakantan1975



Category: Age of Aquarius - Fandom, Chinese Astrology Animals
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-03
Updated: 2018-04-03
Packaged: 2019-04-17 19:56:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14196570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SanjeevNeelakantan1975/pseuds/SanjeevNeelakantan1975
Summary: The world we live in is coming to an end as the 12 animals of Chinese astrology set out to usher in the Age of Aquarius.





	1. December 22, 2044 AD: The beginning of a totemic animal experiment

After an hour of star-gazing on a freezing night of the winter solstice from the terrace of her two-storeyed house, five-year-old Reshma, a native of Kullu Valley in Himachal Pradesh, is being guided to sleep by twelve hidden animal spirits. These animals – Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig – have been the guiding spirits of planetary forces in every human being ever since an age-old contest determined their astrological pecking order. By means of seamless, unexplainable planetary interventions across ages, each of these animal spirits have been assigned the rulership of two hours of the day/night and four sequential seasons in an astrological cycle of 12 years, and they continue to represent and shape the story of human evolution through engineering of emotions, intellect, and aspirations of the baser self. No one knows how and why the animals continue to rule the human brain and heart. Unbeknownst to each other, they work round the clock fixing things the way they want, and the critical mixture of faith, piety, reason, logic, judgment, love, empathy, benevolence, and righteousness fail to achieve the objective of collective altruism because of the rulership of baser selves. It’s true that folklorists and astrologers are never short of stories on the mystical chain between animal and human instincts, but why venture into the unfathomable abyss of heavenly mysteries when the animals are busily setting the stage for a brand new epoch. I have treaded on this ground countless times, and to my heart’s content, let me take you to the world yonder where love and justice await. 

Just when Reshma slips into deep slumber, the leader of the pack, Mr. Rat, squeaks out to his 11 good old friends and enemies, calling them for an emergency brainstorming session, and within the flash of a few seconds, the spirits of Mr. Ox, Mr. Tiger, Mr. Rabbit, Mr. Dragon, Mr. Snake, Mr. Horse, Mr. Goat, Mr. Monkey, Mr. Rooster, Mr. Dog, and Mr. Pig occupy seats in the cells on the thalamus in Reshma’s brain.

Offering salutations to all planets, Mr. Rat says, “Welcome, dear friends and enemies. It’s been ages since we all assembled together on the day of our anointment as totems. I do not know what power enables us to see each other again, but I do know that we have a new job at hand. We have been living our own lives through humans all these years, and our conflicts seem never-ending because of each of our stubbornness to respect the significant other. 

“What makes me so crystal clear about our own behaviour? There has been a revelation. A strange incident took place a couple of minutes ago and it is because of this event that we all assemble here. A strange voice calling itself Jupiter, the Lord of all planets, told me that we all live in ignorance and that we always have been surrendering to the savage demands of our senses, because of which even man is unable to save himself from the quagmire of an ill-conceived life. He communicated to me that the Age of Aquarius is upon us. It’s an age when brotherly love will lift the human race to the sublime state of altruism and ever-present felicity. 

“He tells me that this will be the time when a new race of ever-blissful “Nithya-Suris” (blessed immortals) will rise and deliver the plucky and upright ones of the human collective from the bondage and labours of bad karma. How is it to come about I know not. After all, I and you, my dear ones, have only been part of the silent, subtle machinations of the human mind and heart, and we weren’t blessed with the power of making predictions for the future until now, owing to our uncontrollable submissions to our lower selves. 

“Yet, let me tell you of what I have been instructed to do by the Lord of all Lords, in the capacity of a totemic animal leader. Without setting any conditions or terms of engagement, He has directed me to make pacts with you to make way for the new dawn. Now, I would like to leave the gallery open to discussions.”  
Mr. Ox: “Thank you, Mr. Rat, for bringing forth matters of utmost ethereal significance. But, hearken to me, dear one. If we are to embark on such a mission, wouldn’t we need the assistance of the five enabling elements that make human life possible? We cannot influence the human brain or heart without the mediation of Wood, Water, Fire, Metal, and Earth. I am not worried about the elements of Air and Aether as they are part of Earth. What makes me positive, however, is the feeling that we may for once get to select a team of humans for this mission based on their elements.”

Mr. Tiger: “You speak wisely, Mr. Ox. But there’s another elementary principle we need to remember, that we animals only represent the lowest selves of human beings. How can we engineer or catalyse actions conforming to higher morals and righteousness?”

Mr. Rabbit: “I pray thee to tell me of the Age of Aquarius. Your laconic explanation gives me a dim view of the ministrations we are to provide the humans with.”

Mr. Dragon: “Dear Mr. Rabbit, let me tell you about it in the simplest of words. There is a general belief among humans that every astrological age leads to the birth of a messiah who can deliver people from their miseries by way of spiritual enlightenment and upliftment. A great many astrologers believe that the humanity was passing through the age of Pisces during the life and times of Jesus Christ. Since the zodiac signs move in an anticlockwise direction, the age that succeeds Pisces is that of Aquarius.   
“There have been multiple predictions over the dawn of the Age of Aquarius, but the reality is that no one knows for sure if any of the astrological calculations correspond to the current socio-economic and political advances or spiritual evolution of the human race under the grace of this zodiac sign. Now, that makes me wonder why the Lord of all Lords would himself announce the commencement of the Age of Aquarius when heavenly secrets are never let out into the open. There have been many significant astrological events that have impacted human life both positively and negatively over the past few centuries, but we have never been called in for any kind of collective intervention or manipulation in the human scheme of things. 

“So, tell me, Mr. Rat, how is it that the Great Jupiter called on you for delegation of a bizarre job we know nothing about. We hope it’s not a bout of dementia that’s made you cook up some story. Tell us all about the meeting. How did it take place? What exactly have you been directed to do? How does it involve us all? Why does the Lord need our services when He has a powerful team of angels that is ever-ready to unsheathe the sharpest of blades from their scabbards for any kind of war to protect humanity and heavenly realms from the cadaverous stench of evil? Why isn’t the Lord using the planets to effect an improvement in the living conditions of those eternally trapped in the crevasses of poverty, disease, and neglect? Why should the Lord unravel heavenly secrets before you? It’s never happened before. Who on Earth are Nitya-Suris? Last of all, who’s this girl in slumber? Mr. Rat, be kind enough to clear my volley of doubts. My practical and bookish knowledge restrain me from making any foolish guesses. I shall help you understand a few more things about the Age of Aquarius once I learn what’s transpired between you and the Lord.”

Mr. Rat: “Yes, Mr. Dragon, we certainly need to know more of this astrological age, and none’s better than you for this job as you are the oldest and wisest of our kind. Before you go on, let me, as you ask, share with you all of that transpired in my meeting with the Lord. Well, first of all, it really wasn’t a meeting with the Master. It was an epiphany. Usually, when I am done with my allotted time of work, I hold a meeting with my spirit clones in the subterranean region within the vicinity of the Great Sphinx of Giza to carry out the next day’s human agenda. I prefer to stay here (in Giza) because of the entrancing beauty of the starry-eyed heavens that I get to immerse myself in from there. There’s no other place in the world that has geometrically precise astrological alignments for purposes of divination. 

“Last night, as I was offering prayers to the Lord, I sensed the oncoming of some pulsating air waves, and within the passage of a few minutes, these air waves took hold of my whole spirit and placed me on what seemed like a huge trance-inducing air bubble. I saw two winged Cherubs playing their flute, the music of which sent some messages into my head. I then started uttering to myself a command that went… ‘Pay heed. I, the Lord, need you and your 11 friends and foes for a great transformation in the Earthly realm. The task is to lay the foundation for a new dawn that comes with the Age of Aquarius. I shall give you the power to operate in the exalted state, which will make you all the guardians of every kind of virtue and goodness. The exalted half would know of all actions of the lower self, enabling you to take corrective action whenever a situation demands. 

‘A new race that will be known as ‘Nithya-Suris’ will guide humanity to a better future where there will be no more battles over power or religion. Nithya-Suris will be of a higher consciousness and their awareness of all that’s spiritual and material will help them create a society of equals. Knowing how to work for the greatest happiness of their fellow beings by breaking them from the bondage and sufferings of karma, this race will steer clear of every encumbrance that had been stunting the growth of the great evolutionary cycle. The planets, angels, and demi-gods have a great role to play in the transformations being brought on by this astrological age. So, stay alert, decipher heavenly messages with good judgment, and fight the odds that may seem to stop you from carrying out your mission.’ There, that seemed to be the end of the message, as I could only hear the music played by the Cherubs thereafter. A few moments later, the Cherubs too had gone, and the trance-inducing bubble had transformed into the thalamus of a girl where we meet now. I know nothing of the girl in slumber. Perhaps, this is where our mission is to begin. Now, dear Mr. Dragon, what’s left to know of the Age of Aquarius and Nithya-Suris? Maybe that could give us a head-start.”

Mr. Dragon: “Dear ones, first, let me tell you of the Age of Aquarius. It is believed that everything that exists on Earth as of today, both tangibles and intangibles, is a creation brought about by the interstellar processes of energy, matter, and metaphysics. Some find a unique pattern in the continuous evolution of genes, making it seem that Earthly life is nothing but the conception of an unknown genius, whereby every human and organism has been given the freedom to make natural selection for furtherance of their species. Some call it a continuous cycle of progression of human consciousness towards a higher field of mind. Some say it is the degree of planetary influences that define the very thread of human life. To humans, every planet and zodiac is symbolic of certain anthropomorphic attributes, and they believe these astral forces are in harmony or feud to conspire for the greater good of man and his world. One of the myths surrounding the Age of Aquarius is that Saturn, the traditional ruler of Aquarius, and Uranus, the modern ruler of the zodiac, had been in confrontation with each other for quite some time in history. 

“Now, you may ask, what are we to make of this confrontation? According to popular perception, Saturn is the guardian of every conceivable old structure in a human’s life, while Uranus is symbolic of the new and rebellious. If Saturn tries to preserve the old way of things, Uranus attempts to break existing foundations and establish a new order or way of thinking. This confrontation is believed to have brought about many changes in the socio-economic and political structures of the day with man’s graduation to a newer level of consciousness, and this planetary confrontation or engagement is just one of the processes that have been set in motion by the grand cosmic conspiracy surrounding man.  
“As for Nithya-Suris, the term is mentioned in the Hindu Puranas. These scriptures hold that the thousand-headed Adishesha, an avatar of the Supreme Lord that holds the planets on its hoods, is a Nithya-Suri, an omniscient being always in a state of “ananda” (bliss). One other Nithya-Suri being mentioned in the scriptures is Garuda, the winged vehicle of the Supreme Lord. Now, the only thing I can make out is that Nithya-Suris are going to take new avatars in the Earthly realm to rid man of his debased temptations and make him love his own brethren. If man learns to conduct himself righteously in every sphere of his life, none of his actions would subject him to the misgivings of karma. He would be a liberated spirit living for the ultimate ‘ananda’. But I do not understand the amalgamation of the Hindu concept of Nithya-Suris with the Western astrological science. What does the fusion mean?”

Mr. Snake: “Mr. Dragon, the Almighty never does anything for Himself. All His creations are meant for man himself. Maybe this fusion is the best way for the spiritual growth of man.”

Mr. Horse: “Mr. Snake, that’s the only logic one can come up with. Now that we have a better sense of what the grand plan is all about, may we devise our strategy for the mission?”

Mr. Goat: “Not so quick, Mr. Fast Feet. There are a lot many other questions that remain to be attended. Why hasn’t it occurred to anyone yet that we are generally kept away from children up to the age of 12? Now, we may get to influence a five-year-old girl for the first time ever. What do you make of this change in our degree of influence vis-a-vis children? If you can tell me the reason why we have never been able to induce such children to perform certain actions for fulfillment of their desires, then we may be able to arrive at a conjecture, if not absolute certainty.”

Mr. Monkey: “Dear Mr. Goat, up to the age of 12, children are impressionable as they learn anything and everything on the basis of imitative act and play or observation. They are free to form their own opinions about the world around them, and the influences or dynamics of their relationships with people around them go into the wholesome creation of characteristic traits and emotional response systems. At 12, the child completes one full cycle of the astrological calendar, and this may be considered the beginning of his/her journey into manhood/womanhood. Perhaps, the conditioning of mind begins at this stage, with the experiences of the past 12 years serving as a repository of information that helps or inhibits him/her from making choices in the daily quest of life. While we animals do not have a direct influence upon these children, they do get affected by the behavioural systems of humans under our control. So, in a way, we do play a role in the development of their intellect and response systems. However, the rules may undergo a total change if we get to influence these children with our higher selves, going by what the Lord has told our comrade.”

Mr. Rooster: “That piece of information adds up to our speculation. But why are we looking at the sleeping child in isolation? Don’t we have information on her parents? Shouldn’t we familiarise ourselves with the environment we are in? Shouldn’t we start piecing together the story of her family first? That could provide us with some leads. In fact, we should once again start our enquiry with Mr. Rat himself, since the state (Himachal Pradesh) to which this child belongs was formed in the year 1948, the Year of the Rat, and that’s what brings it under his greater influence. After that, everyone can add their bit to the story of the child’s family. Don’t you all agree?”

Mr. Pig: “Be quick, my friends and foes! We may not have much time to make inferences, given the immutable and incapacitating nature of time and destiny, which can take you down in one fell swoop. Circumspection and swiftness of mind are called for as we stand on a precipice of uncertainty. Let’s also try and look at the external factors and relationships affecting or influencing this girl child’s family.”

Mr. Rat: “Certainly, Mr. Pig. It didn’t occur to me until now. I was consumed by the concept of the Age of Aquarius. I know nothing about the girl, but I shall tell you all that I know of the girl’s family and their relationships. The little girl’s father, Rana Khan, is the Superintendent of Police of Kullu district, and her mother is the principal of a government school in Kullu. Until now, this family has had a peaceful life, thanks to the facilities, perquisites, and social position that come with a high office. Peace, only thus far. Threat is round the corner and I’ll tell you why. Khan is a meritorious officer known for involvement in a number of community welfare and development programmes that have helped the police maintain peace in this hilly district. But he had been largely unsuccessful in containing the menace of drug-running.   
“A drug-harvesting paradise, Himachal Pradesh’s very many celebrated hill stations and little known hamlets have been serving as manufacturing and peddling laboratories of psychotropic substances for a well-layered drug mafia for decades now. The tentacles of this network of drug-runners have not only spread across India but also to international destinations. 

“Even foreigners arriving in the guise of tourists have been hoodwinking state authorities by leaving no trace of their trails. Many of them have either become drug agents, carriers, or stakeholders in this illegal business, and along the way, they have introduced a wide range of goods, including counterfeit currency, that provide supplementary income and enable them to maintain liquidity in times of high state vigilance or crackdowns. Khan had arrested a few peddlers in the past, but got no certain leads about the drug syndicate they were working for. But for a few drug hauls here and there and the unearthing and closure of small-time drug cartels, he never could keep up with the chase for the larger players. The wind finally blew in his favour recently when he managed to storm a drug-manufacturing den on the outskirts of Kullu. An Israeli and an Afghan were among those nabbed in this operation, and they started to spill the beans upon being subjected to narco-analysis tests.

“In their confession, the duo mentioned the name of a Delhi-based don, Munna Pandey, and his brother, Arvind Pandey. By tracking and tapping some telephone numbers and following up with a team of informers, Khan’s team ferreted out Arvind Pandey from his safe house in Manali and liquidated him knowing that his high political connections would eventually come to his rescue. Before dumping his body, Khan recovered a diary and a mobile phone from the slain don. Upon finding some addresses and telephone numbers in the seized items, he laid a dragnet across the district and managed to arrest a number of peddlers working for Munna Pandey. But, much to Khan’s chagrin, one of the peddlers gave the slip in a cross-fire, and soon, word spread in the underworld that Khan was behind the killing of Arvind Pandey. Angered by the killing of his brother, Munna Pandey started looking for the right opportunity to strike against Khan. Since the gateways and alleys of the underworld are ruled by the dark Pluto, the merchants of death and nefarious things never fear the conscience-keepers of the overworld. They always look for the soft spots of their challengers. In Khan’s case, his child is his biggest weakness, and nothing will stop his enemy, Munna Pandey, from avenging himself, even if it means bringing harm to a child. Anything can happen anytime as Himachal Pradesh presents a difficult planetary setting since my secret friend, Mr. Ox, and I have a good compatibility with Mr. Pig, whose dark ruling planet Pluto has a clear influence in my territory, just like Mr Ox’s overlord Saturn – the one who governs the affairs of family and life. You all know what happens when Pluto dances with Saturn. Life turns dangerously unpredictable, leaving everyone at the mercy of a chanceful of luck.”

Mr. Tiger: “Dear Mr. Rat, let’s not go by the rulership of a planet over a region now that we are all going to work in tandem. The effects of planetary transits keep changing in tune with the nature of their interactions with each other. We can understand human behaviour only by identifying the animal ruling a certain hour of the day and the elements surrounding him/her. Let’s just play by our instincts. There’s no point extrapolating on the possibilities of turning something into a success. Our duty lies in action. Let’s get started.”

Mr. Dog: “Mr. Tiger is right. The elements of Wood, Water, Fire, Metal, and Earth will conspire on their own for our success. We just need to get our act together by selecting humans designed for this job. Being man’s best friend, I am more worried about the spanner in the works. The chaotic pluralities of faith and religion in a gross material world will have to be overcome if any of our plans are to come to fruition. We need to weed out money from the world to tame the unscrupulous man.”

Mr. Dog’s pointed attack on money comes to an abrupt closure with a creaking noise from Reshma’s room. A masked and armed man enters Reshma’s room through a window, takes the sleeping child into his custody, and vanishes from the scene in a rickety ambulance.


	2. Two Years Later... The Vanished Go Vanishing

After elaborate discussions and preparations over a period of two years, the animals call out to all their spirit clones in humans across the world and ask them to play the thought-catcher, to know what a human intends to do in his/her life and create new thoughts of altruism by developing in them a revulsion for every ill in society. As the animal spirits work in the background, a strange rebellion scripted by their human agents appears in the forecourt of power mongers.

June 21, 2046, Connaught Place, New Delhi

Oblivious of the heat, the incensing interplay of pollutants, and her mild fever, Reshma makes one more rush for the collection of the day. As she makes faces before motorists at a traffic signal, her dreadlocks and emaciated body give the people on the move an instant, horrific glimpse into the city’s underbelly – a horror that would die soon with a grunt at the state of affairs, the cruel twist of fate, and the ploys employed by beggars. As the traffic starts to move, Reshma is back to the pavement with a frown on her face. She tells her 10-year-old companion Govind, “Kuch Nahin Mila Re. Sab Saaley Chor Hain. (I’ve got nothing. Everyone’s a thief).” 

Within two hours, as the city’s darker side comes to life, Reshma’s collections of the day are handed over to Ratan, an eighteen-year-old who ensures a steady income from 15 street urchins in the Hanuman Mandir locality through the business of beggary. The collections of the day eventually go to Munna Pandey, who has been pushing kidnapped children into beggary and other illicit trades for over a decade now. On some days, when the earnings are low, Reshma either gets a thrashing or scolding for her poor performance. Today, she’s been lucky. She’s earned Rs 100, and let off easily. At 9 pm, just when Reshma crosses the road, heading for her roofless home on the pavement off Hanuman Mandir at Mohan Singh Place, a black Wagon-R stops in front of her, and a hand with a food parcel reaches out to the seven-year-old. When she holds out her hand to collect the unexpected bonus of the day, the man in the car says he could even treat her to some ice cream. Within seconds, Reshma vanishes from the scene.

At 9 am the next day, the sub-inspector of Connaught Place police station is harried, handling the complaints of 50-odd people, including Munna Pandey, over the disappearance of about 60 street urchins from various parts of Connaught Place in the past one month.

The Missing Game Widens

June 22, 2046, Unesco Headquarters, Paris

The International Literacy Day is just round the corner, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) is busy taking stock of the latest education highlights from vulnerable zones across the world. The new reports have just brought about an equal measure of sorrow and happiness at the Unesco Headquarters – sorrow over subversion of societal values in a great number of countries at the cost of harm to precious little lives, and happiness over moderate responsive action to get a large number of people entitlements to the bare essentials of an honourable living. “The millennium goals are still far from being realised in true letter and spirit just because acts of prejudice, discrimination, suppression, and oppression are still hounding out people from the very fabric of a just social life. It’s been four momentous years since I’ve taken over as an activist of Unesco, and we’ve covered a lot of ground… though a lot more is desired. We need greater commitments in a collaborative environment where nothing is left to the repeated onslaught of subhuman agendas,” says Linda Harvest, making a periodic assessment of Unesco’s global endeavours just before the Director-General, Jillian Hughes, unveils the latest global education report. 

Just when Jillian starts talking of the need for a conscious, concerted, and well-planned global action against the existential crises in different corners of the world, her mobile phone vibrates for a second, acknowledging the receipt of a new mail. A few hours after a satisfactory response from delegates to her clarion call for child education in more than 160 countries, she finds some time to attend to her personal affairs. On opening her mailbox, she is surprised to see an anonymous mail that holds out a cryptic message. “Do what you can when you can for those you have come to love. Free yourself from the burden of restraints and lend a helping hand the way you’ve never done before.” Though the message lacks any hint of ideological extremism, spiritual fanaticism, or an impending threat to the global collective, she asks her top aides to get to the root of the unsolicited mail. The frantic searches come to a naught eventually, and just when everyone deems it to be a prank of a hacker comes another mail that romps home the same message with two more lines. It reads: “Come to our assistance in this turbulent hour. We’ll tell you how to join our crusade once you’ve made up your mind.” The searches draw a blank once again, and everyone at Unesco forgets the incident for about two months until the inexplicable disappearance of the top boss. “Jillian Hughes goes missing!” says a headline on the New York Times front page, dated August 23, 2046. 

And then the message quakes through Washington DC…

That very day, the same anonymous message that Jillian Hughes had received crops up in the mailbox of the IMF Chairman, Jacques Bristo, and the World Bank President, Manuel Glass. Dozens of search and seize operations only lead to a few dead-ends, and this hopelessness remains unattended in the daily, collective mad rush for material ends, until the next crisis strikes, making all the leading governments of the day apprehensive of a financial destabilisation conspiracy. On September 6, the New York Times’ top headline says, “IMF and World Bank chiefs vanish just like Jillian”. 

While the federal investigation agencies have a field day, the rumour mills start constructing conspiracy theories of the brazen kind, with some pointing fingers at the rogue nations of the world and others blindly implicating the terror outfits with no shred of proof. Within weeks, every radio, newspaper, magazine, and television channel of the world is groping with half-baked analyses over the sudden, mysterious disappearance of a bunch of strategic advisors of several world bodies. On the diplomatic front, a war of words breaks the fragile alliance of the super powers, with each accusing the other of holding the world to ransom for ulterior motives. In the middle of all this volatility, the sender of the cryptic message says unto himself with a smile of accomplishment, “Great are the mysteries of the soul that hath no beginning, no middle, and no end… The soul just watches as we, the human agents, play out the dramas of life a million ways. It’s never about winning or losing. It’s about being at peace with the soul. I will never renege on the promise of delivering the hapless at the altar of faith and boundless love… my divine earth.”

The Delhi connection

June 23, 2046, New Delhi

Falak Ali isn’t the kind of person given to any sort of adventurism, although he had served the national capital territory region of Delhi as the Chief Minister for two years following public pressure to turn his fight for clean and people-friendly governance into a political beginning. It’s been two years since he’s had to dissolve his government for want of majority on the floor of the legislative assembly, and ever since, he’s been away from public glare, working on a new political experiment that no one in his party or friend circle is privy to. He’s found an unlikely ally in an internet network that finds some semblance of social equity and justice in a cause being put together with utmost secrecy, and today’s the day he’s been looking forward to since a long time. 

After reading news reports on the disappearance of 60 street urchins with a childish grin, Ali calls on members of his party, People’s Freedom Front, and asks them to launch a series of protests against the Federal Front-led Central government and the Anandi Singh government of Delhi over the kidnap episode. Ali’s close lieutenant Kanti Singh, overcome by shock that the leader has chosen to speak to him after a gap of two years, tells him over the phone: “Ali bhai, it is heartening to know that you have decided to come back to the mainstream. But we do not enjoy the same public confidence that we enjoyed during our two-year rule because of your inexplicable exit from politics. We need to hold a press conference first to win back people’s confidence and state some believable reasons for our silence for the past two years. Only then can we take on both sisterly governments at the Centre and in Delhi.”

Ali had been expecting this re-engagement with the masses, so it’s obvious that he had a plan in place. “Come over to my place right away, Kanti bhai, and we shall discuss our future course of action.” Anticipating a fast-paced day ahead, Ali quickly makes use of the short time he has to communicate with the internet network about the new developments. He turns on his laptop, logs into lifeisamonkey.com on a secure connection, and enters its discussion board to post a message. “First move has been carried out successfully as per the game plan. Now, I am over to some re-engineering in the political domain.” To this, he receives a quick response from a user, “Good. We are making arrangements for our rendezvous with the new participants at Pokhra, Nepal. Keep yourself free for the launch session.”

Early in life, Ali, who has a Masters in Developmental Economics, had opted out of easy career options, with a deep sense of moral responsibility towards using his knowledge for the greater good of people from the impoverished sections of society. So, soon after his higher studies, with the help of two street education NGO activists, Manas Rai and Tara Mehta, he founded a ‘Mobile School’ for children from the slum areas of Delhi. Initially, it was difficult for the trio to source funds from the government, philanthropists, or private parties, so they put in their own savings and bought a big bus that was converted into a classroom. In the beginning, the Mobile School organised two-hour-long basic education workshops in select slum areas across the four corners of Delhi, and as the number of students started to swell within a short time, Ali started meeting well-disposed people and ministers for external funding for purchase of more buses. Impressed by the not-for-profit education campaign of Ali and his team, Delhi Education Minister Sharad Kohli promised to disburse funds for the purchase of 15 buses for as many districts. Similarly, five noted philanthropists too pitched in soon enough, taking the bus fleet to 20 at the turn of the year. 

Along the way, Mobile School had to hire more teachers, and their simple teaching methodologies were applauded by the media, government, and school community. There came a time when Ali, Manas, and Tara started giving lectures at various forums on augmentation of the basic education system through social enterprises wedded to the idea of empowering the poorest of poor. It was around this time that Sharad Kohli sought a meeting with Ali. A day before, Kohli had proposed devolution of powers to private education initiatives such as the Mobile School in order to improve literacy rates among the poorest sections of society. 

In his meeting with Ali at the Delhi Secretariat in the evening, Kohli asked Ali if he would be interested in taking up a consultative role in the government to assist it in taking forward the literacy revolution. Ali took the offer and brought about a magnificent turnaround in the Delhi education sector by covering about 80 per cent of poor children in its literacy campaign in the remaining term of the Anandi Singh government. Having won top education awards from the Unicef and accolades from various global institutions for his contribution towards education for the poor, Ali soon became the talking point among the masses. And just when elections in Delhi were round the corner, many good samaritans and popular public figures influenced Ali to launch his own party and take over the reins of power. And he did that in the nick of time, leading to his election as the Chief Minister of Delhi. But politics wasn’t an easy game for this developmental economics expert as vicious politicians and criminals joined hands to derail his government because of his growing love for education and war on crime. After a series of unsolved, grisly crimes, Ali’s party had to face a lot of defections in the wake of a gang-rape in one of Delhi government’s office premises at the fag end of the Independence Day celebrations in 2043. Shortly after, Ali’s party failed in the trust vote on the floor of the House. He then called it a day and quit politics. But one thing always occupied his mind even when he was away from the political scene: that of arresting the crime graph totally through education and employment, and a year after his exit from politics, he received an anonymous mail extending wholesome support to his campaign against crime.

Meanwhile, Delhi wakes up to an unseemly quietude, as newspaper headlines scream about the disappearance of 60 street urchins, and motley crews of child and human rights activists lead human chains from various parts of the national capital to Parliament in protest against the insensitivity of the Federal Front government towards the security of the poor and abandoned ones. 

Schoolbus stops across the city are unusually crowded on this day, with parents staying close to their little ones till they are packed off to schools. The same drill is repeated towards high noon when the little ones are on their way back home. On its part, the Delhi Police tighten security in and around railway stations, bus stops, and airports and requests the consulates of neighbouring states and countries to be on the constant lookout for any suspicious case of human trafficking. The vigil and search spreads to the cyber space as well, with the IT cell of the Delhi Police checking internet discussion boards and shady websites.

The Federal Front government announces that it has convened a joint session of Parliament to take stock of the issue. The Union Child and Women Development Minister, Mira Jaswant, is finalising a white paper to tell the critics of the government that they have been doing everything possible to ameliorate the living conditions of the poverty-stricken. The Opposition, particularly Ali’s People’s Freedom Front, has taken the issue to the people’s court, saying that the government has been unable to arrest a spiral in child kidnappings and crime against women owing to its faulty policies of governance.

News channels go the whole hog by giving graphic presentations of an uncertain life in the ghettos of Delhi. They hold provocative chat sessions round the clock, with leading social activists, politicians, and members of the intelligentsia throwing light on the sorry plight of those caught in the vicious circle of poverty and crime. Fresh out-of-college reporters and photographers are on the hunt for killer bytes and mind-numbing shots on perilous living from the dwellers of urban shanties. And heart-rending tales of missing persons and their bereaving families are recounted to showcase the state’s repeated failure to contain child trafficking and flesh trade.

“Will this storm too blow over as fast as the burning issues of the recent past? There’ll be some public protests at India Gate over the government’s inept governance. On its part, the government will once again come up with some new security measures and people-friendly packages to turn the tide in its favour. After some squabbling, everything will limp back to normalcy, the ignorant ways of a neo-urbanite. Isn’t that how we are?” asks sociologist Naina Gawade in a prime time TV show. 

Far removed from this din, the last batch of missing children arrives in a small bus somewhere in South India. After a long time, Reshma is in a playful mood, fingering her tonsured head and singing an English nursery rhyme she had learnt from her mother when she was barely four.


	3. The Hunt

August 24, 2046, Paris

For the twelfth straight hour and the nth time, a joint team of the French police and the DCRI (Direction Centrale du Renseignement Intérieur) is rummaging through the drawers, shelves, almirahs, and computer files at Jillian Hughes’ private villa ‘Le Bonheur’ in the 16th arrondissement for clues to her disappearance the previous day. “Patience, patience… I’ll get back to you when I have something for you,” says DCRI Chief Jean Pierre Trevebac as he makes his way through a heavy posse of mediapersons into Jillian’s villa. After a quick inspection of the scene, Trevebac summons the joint search team in-charge, Meningo Pablo, seeking to know if there has been any breakthrough. “We have come across a few clues, but none of them have proved to be workable leads. Clue no. 1: Madame Jillian left a stick-up note on her personal computer shortly before she left her villa. In the note, she says, ‘Don’t look for me. I’ll look for you when it’s time.’ Clue no. 2: Madame Jillian had been active on the internet for four hours before her departure from the villa at 12:30 pm. Her internet history folder shows us that she had visited a website called ‘lifeisamonkey.com’. Each and every feature on this website, including a message board, is encrypted, making us suspect that she was directed there for some kind of message or discussion. We got our best hackers to decode the website, but to no avail. This only goes on to suggest that someone had engaged the services of the best hackers to get in touch with her through a highly secure website. Clue no. 3: According to her personal secretary Marie Chopin, Madame Jillian was going to meet somebody at Palais de Tokyo in the 16th arrondissement. We did check up with the staff at Palais de Tokyo, but Madame never turned up there. Besides these clues, we merely have a copy of the two anonymous emails that Madame had received about two months back. We tried to check the IP address of the sender of the anonymous mail, but the address appeared to be spoofed,” says Pablo, waiting for Trevebac’s next directive.

Trevebac takes time to absorb the information and makes the next move with an uneasy smile on his face. “Well, we are staring a blank wall, and the media wouldn’t spare me if I were to tell them that we have made no headway. So, I’ve got to give them some meat to chew on or else, they’ll turn the heat on us,” says Trevebac, asking Pablo to send word to the media that he would like to make a statement. And at the end of the day, everyone goes with Madame Jillian’s quirky message, “Don’t look for me. I’ll look for you when it’s time”, as their main lead.

September 7, 2046, Washington DC

US President James Madison is holding last minute parleys with his close confidantes a few hours before an emergency UN meeting of the Big Five (US, Russia, Japan, China, and France) over the disappearance of Jillian Hughes, Jacques Bristo, Manuel Glass, and many other people holding significant positions in various global forums. Madison quickly breaks for tea, knowing well that he may not have time for anything once he moves on to his next round of meeting with the federal agents and Secret Service officials. 

Over tea, Madison asks Secretary of State Robert Niven whether such incidences of disappearance of people in powerful posts have ever taken place in the history of United States. To this, Niven replies in the negative, but assures the President that there are sufficient leads to take us to the dungeon of the perpetrators. “I do not want to cause any kind of mental stress to you right now. You’ll be updated with all the news and developments in this case at the meeting with the federal agents. Besides, I’ve learnt from Secretary of Defense Clark Kelly that things are not as hopeless as they are made out to be by the media.” Just then, Madison’s Personal Secretary Perry Fox comes in, informing him that it’s time for the next meeting.

As Madison moves into the Situation Room of the White House, senior administration officials and top federal agents get ready with their documents, slides, and projector to make power presentations. As soon as he takes seat, Madison says, “This is an hour of shame to the United States. We do not know where many of our world’s eminent citizens have gone. We have a national emergency situation. If we can’t get our internal security situation right, how can we get our external situation in order? So, I make a humble plea to all of you to decipher what’s happening and set at rest all public apprehensions about terror rearing its head all over again. We are the United States. We are not a banana republic that can be held hostage by a gang of saboteurs and radical extremists. It’s time we got our act right. With this appeal, I invite you to be a part of this hunt for an internal and external order in our system of governance.”

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Andy Derrick immediately seeks permission from Madison and addresses the gathering. “Over the next 90 minutes, I’ll take you through a quick analysis of the current crisis. There are quite a few leads that tell us who’s behind the disappearance of Jillian Hughes, Jacques Bristo, Manuel Glass, and many others. Federal Agent Captain Murray De Mornay will make the first presentation, giving us a real sense of the disappearance fiasco.”  
Within seconds, Captain Murray quickly paces up to the projector and sets it on the play mode. As the presentation starts with the voice-over of Captain Murray, White House Assistants Tim Bedrock and Susan Crowley open their notebooks for assimilation of all the essential parts of the unfolding mystery. 

The first slide shows the photographs of Jillian Hughes, Jacques Bristo, and Manuel Glass, with the dates on which they disappeared. It fades out into a statement that the trio apparently made before their disappearance – “Don’t look for me. I’ll look for you when it’s time.” 

Captain Murray then establishes that there’s more to this mystery than these three celebrated personalities. “Eleven more people from powerful positions have disappeared from seven countries over the past three months,” says Captain Murray, just before new photographs splash on the screen. The photos are that of Kraikov Katze, 54, Head of the Russian Space Research Foundation; Margaret Dunnstam, 52, Director of the German Robotics Development Society; Licia Brodzek, 48, Chair of the Israeli Innovation Foundation; Josef Oliya, 50, Chief Patron of the Brazilian Agricultural Society; Nazake Nava, 58, Chairman of the Nuclear Suppliers Group; Gloria Estefa, 64, Trustee of the Global Astronomy Association; Ramaswamy Iyer, 55, President, World Mathematical Foundation; Ernesto Brunton, 46, World Literary Society; Antony Pacek, 42, Deputy Director, World Wildlife Fund; Iliyana Daje, 50, Director, Cross-cultural research, Global Anthropological Society, and Edwina Singer, 45, Mentor, World Montessori Education Society.

“All these eminent citizens of the world have been missing for nearly three months now. Their relatives had reported the matter to the law-enforcing agencies, and the search operations produced nothing but the same message that we have from the cases of Jillian Hughes, Jacques Bristo, and Manuel Glass – “Don’t look for me. I’ll look for you when it’s time.”  
The narrator then moves onto a list of clues that have been unearthed by the FBI investigations. As the screenshot of a funny-looking website comes alive on the projector board, the voice-over continues, “From the computer records of each of the missing personality, we have reason to believe that they logged onto a website called lifeisamonkey.com for a secured chat with the network hosts in all probability. For, the chats had been conducted through a double knot password mechanism that is impossible to break through for even the best of our hackers. Which again makes us suspect that the network hosts themselves created this double knot to secure the chat with these personalities. Now, what’s a double knot? It’s a scenario where an accomplished hacker met with artificial success while attempting to hack into the chat records by breaking the first set of password. It did produce the de-encrypted password on the screen as “babablacksheephaveyouanywoolyessiryessirthreebagsfull” but went into a second knot with countless variables. In the end, the de-encrypted password only seemed to be mocking anyone who attempted to break into the network. From the face of it, this appears to be a big conspiracy that may or may not involve the missing personalities. And all that can be said on behalf of the FBI is that we are still working on these cases with cooperation from countries across the world.”  
When the presentation comes to a close, James Madison directs the Secretary of State to set up a crisis management group immediately to get to the bottom of the “conspiracy”.

Around the same time, a group of 40 people, comprising the missing personalities, gather in a large classroom at a dilapidated school building in the heart of Pokhra, Nepal. One of them asks everyone to get seated on the benches with a one-line introduction, “I am the man behind lifeisamonkey.com and it is I who invited you to this life-changing conference.”


	4. The Intent

September 10, 2046, Pokhra, Nepal

At 9 am, a man clad in black shakes the hands of all 14 people whose inexplicable disappearance has baffled several governments. He then assumes the teacher’s position to set the class rolling. “I am Etios Hawk, a well-networked strategist, negotiator, businessman, investor, and technologist. My credo rests on reason, logic, and fair judgment and it has nothing to do with religion. I have faith in creation. Man should learn to be a good creator. Lifeisamonkey.com is a clandestine internet springboard that helps us exchange ideas with over five million like-minded agents across the world. It has taken us several months to inculcate faith among these agents in our movement. We are aiming to build an economy tied to the hope of a just human life that comes with no shred of prejudice, discrimination, oppression, exploitation, or pressures of monetization and profit. 

“The United Nation’s Steering Committee on Resource Generation and Community Empowerment has been studying the growth dynamics of the global economy for the past 20 years and it acknowledges the limits of development. The gap between the haves and have-nots has been rising steadily, with a majority of youths – at least 1 billion – staring at unemployment or making do with lowly paid work-from-home jobs. Add two more billions of those faced with poverty, illiteracy, malnutrition, and disease-driven mortality. These figures show that there’s something terribly wrong with the designs of our global economy. It’s time to attend to the inconveniences of the people and make the invisible hand theory of Adam Smith more productive and measurable. The invisible hand of a corrupt state should be replaced with a benign force that can bring succor to all of humanity, not just well-heeled sections of society. It’s time to satiate the aggregate demand of the have-nots and bring them on par with the haves by dismantling corrupt government controls on the basic modes of living. I’ll let our economist, Daaren Zamo, speak more about our evolved intent and purpose of piecing together the economy in a revolutionary way, possibly giving us all a great sense of an evolutionary breakthrough for the first time in human history.”

A lean-framed man touching his early 30s, Daaren shuts out the lights of the classroom and activates a projector to begin his presentation on the classroom blackboard. The first graphic animatedly shows the division of the global labour force and distribution of economic assets between public and private entities. Then, it goes on to show the sunshine sectors and unemployment rates across the world over a period of 20 years. It shows that the world has been taken over by the startup revolution, a phenomenon that has not just upped competition but also the war of attrition over capitalization, acquisition of bright minds, and birth of great product ideas. 

“The attrition rates in the startup industry have in turn pushed up the rates of unemployment and self-employment as more and more people are tending to start an enterprise on their own mettle and financial might. What worsens the global economic fabric is the fact that we are past the days of industrial evolution with even mammoth public and private enterprises joining the startup bandwagon. Today, the pulse of the economy is driven by the demand for cheaper, innovative line-up of products that can be accessed easily by anyone anywhere in the world. The erstwhile monopoly of market behemoths has gone and given power to hordes of lean and intellectually mean companies that steer public consumption through pricing wars, hideous customer-centric programmes, and product excellence. We have reached such a state of technology disruption that today’s top dog may go out of the race as early as tomorrow. The stability of an economy is now dependent on an ‘unstable’ stroke of genius that keeps shape-shifting or evolving at the cost of enterprise and manpower burnouts. This disturbing trend of economic instability needs to be arrested even when the startup story continues with its myriad steps of innovation. This, however, is just one side of the problem,” says Daaren.

He then asks, “What do you live for? Food? Or all the pleasures that money can buy?” Jillian Hughes raises her hand and says, “If the flow of food and money can be balanced, we only need to deal with the imbalance caused by perversion of desire. How can we ensure balance of desires and arrest perversion?”

Daaren says, “We have started dismantling evil structures across the world. We intend to give a new twist to Adam Smith’s invisible hand theory. The state wouldn’t be the invisible hand supporting people from the outside. Rather, people themselves will double up as invisible hands providing for their ilk in a startup system that promotes an egalitarian society. They will not only be workers but also managers and providers of startup pool and stock, helping everyone meet demand and supply of materials required for a just life with proper rationing and product sourcing operations. A system based on collective goodwill and love can arrest perversion of desire. You may now ask us how we plan to topple corrupt regimes. Well, we are in the process of influencing public opinion on a global scale. We have already talked to over five million people through lifeisamonkey.com and asked them to bid adieu to the present system of money and slavery. All of these people are willing to make temporary sacrifices for the sake of their progeny. Once the new system is in place, there will be jobs of parity and food for everyone.”

At the end of the presentation, Jillian Hughes and the 13 other “missing” personalities show their willingness to join the revolution.


	5. The Goal

Ruminations in the animal spirit world…

Mr. Rat: “Now that we have started to influence the thoughts of a great number of men for accomplishment of our high-ended goal, we need to complete the jigsaw of human evolution for our own sake. We do know what higher thinking means. But we also need to understand clearly what evolution means so as to ensure that the Age of Aquarius is free from all kinds of poor judgment on our part.”

Mr. Dragon: “As I understand from the oodles of theorisations, ideas, precepts, concepts, and analyses I have gathered from world literature, this universe is a giant creature made up of scores of high-powered spirits who feed on their children for survival. There’s no other answer that I can decipher from the cryptic anachronistic or modern day texts of confusion. Every nuance of culture is an art, just like language. Culture has been made the engine of life. Therefore, look no further for any crystal clear answers. The high spirit that you call Jupiter is certainly a deceptive spirit making an itch through us for survival. Yes, it’s all an itch. Creation is based on the high demi-urges’ canvas of dreams that lowly spirits, humans, and animals live out every day with the devil of a hope that our lives may improve each passing day and take us to the never-ending threshold of ever-felicitous fruition called liberation. I do not fear in calling Jupiter a deceptive spirit because that spirit knows for sure that I would do anything it says to save my skin. This high spirit just wants us to cause an itch among humans, causing them to mechanise better inventions in the blind hope of an Aquarian Age. Motivated by a higher reason, man would leave no stone unturned to chisel out the inventions conceived by higher minds. And that would only go on to make the game of life more tasteful for the community of higher spirits.”

Mr. Rat: “How is that, Mr. Dragon? Can you please elaborate on the “itch” part and let us know how we are going to be the machinations of a better game of life for high spirits?”

Mr. Dragon: “Every skein of primordial thought among the first-born spirits of earth and space revolved around one problem – that of survival, survival for days on end, an endless time, or an eternity. Imagine yourself as an immortal and you would understand the debilitating onus of looking after yourself forever with sufficient ration of food and “renewable interests” that could make up for pastime, leisure, and entertainment on a daily basis. Together, the spirits found themselves in a lifeless predicament that could mean their death every moment, despite the real absence of death. Their creation was nothing but an accident in this ageless universe. However, it was an accident that brought with it some unlikely forms as compared to the forms of man and animal, something that could be described as invisible to the human eye. These invisible spirits then decided in unison to create a formidable backbone of survival through the spawning of languages, arts, and cultures, and obliterating the truth from mankind forever. No revelations about the spirits were ever made. While there have been subtle mention of spirits in scriptures, no human knows the real import of such descriptions. Anything that related to spirits rested on the pedestal of apocrypha, making man itch his beard in wonder at all times. This is the real itch that has been sustained by the high spirits.”

Mr. Tiger: “What you say makes clear sense. But how do we come into the picture? Are you suggesting that our mental makeup too is a creation born out of this itch?”

Mr. Dragon: “Quite obviously. Animals hunt for food and copulate. And when we assumed the form of spirits, unlike many of our successors who still remain animals, we just prompted humans to do what animals do – hunt and copulate. There has never been a time when competition among mankind ever ceased to exist. It just kept multiplying at the rate of the population. Our previous mental conditioning took place in our infancy. And the new conditioning, of begetting higher thinking among humans, could only take place through a disclosure.”

Mr. Pig: “But how can this new mental conditioning lead to a perpetual stage of high reasoning? Does it mean that we will keep stoking human thoughts forever, with no sight of retirement?”

Mr. Dragon: “I am certain that there is a way out for us all, including humans. We are only going to tempt one race of humans and turn them into higher spiritual masters. Then, these masters will take over from us, and when more masters appear from the succeeding race, the past ones will go into retirement. Retirement is nothing but a free transference of souls across bodies around the world.”

Mr. Rooster: “How are we going to implement the new system among humans? Do you have a plan, Mr. Dragon?”

Mr. Dragon: “We will strike at the root – money. With money ceasing to exist, one of the most humongous forms of evil will come to an end. With that all forms of competition among humans will fade away, catapulting man to the higher realm of wisdom and altruism. No one will ever think of committing sins. It will be the dawn of a new age – the Age of Aquarius. We can bring about this transition with a startup mindset. We will subject humans to a short period of incubation (by instilling higher ideas), carry out onboarding, and make them test the product of their collective thinking. Persistence in delivery of objectives will simply mean a startup-payout. Everyone gets to reap the benefits.”

As the 12 animals continue to speak in hushed tones in Reshma’s head, an invisible higher spirit that calls itself Jupiter overhears their conversation. The spirit smiles and whispers to his partner, “The age of Kalki (righteous) has come. Kali Yuga is coming to an end. Let Kali Yuga serve a lesson of love to every human. All those people and animals that had been thought to be the butchered in the Kali Yuga are safe. We have cornered man by playing a dumb charade of violence for ages, to make him realise the ever-increasing loss of love among his kith and kin. He knows not that a spirit can act out as a dummy through a body. Even the animal spirits are groping in dark. They know not that all the people who have been deemed to be the victims of violence of the ages have merely been dummies. Though the charade has served its purpose, we will continue to hold our veil before man till a future date, until the cosmos of man and animal fixes itself to perfection.”


	6. Pulse of the movement

September 12, 2046, Idukki, Kerala

As the animal spirits and their clones lurk in the unconscious and subconscious minds of humans with their ingenious idea of thought alteration, a series of events take shape in the form of a global movement.  
After winding up the parleys on lifeisamonkey.com’s goals and objectives, Etios Hawke and Daaren Zamo take the new members onboard a flight from Kathmandu to Kochi for a nuanced understanding of the movement. From Kochi, they take taxis to a forested village near Vagamon in Idukki district. As the taxis snake through winding rumblestrips into a green-lined frontyard of a “pathinaaru kettu” (an eighteen-halled tiled mansion with four central courtyards), a large group of children raises the decibel with shouts of astonishment and excitement.

Instead of restricting themselves to the much serious matters of the movement, Jillian Hughes and Manuel Glass join the children for a game of “pittoo”, a game of seven stones. Jillian says, “Excuse us for some time. We find this game interesting.” To which Etios says, “Feeling the freedom of the soul is the first step in realising our goals.”

Shortly after, the new joinees take a refreshing bath in the “kulam” (pond) adjoining the property. At breakfast, they dig into a pot of steaming hot tapioca with generous amounts of coconut and green chillies. Just when they start having piping hot tea, Appan Namboodiry, head of the Kallunkal Mana that owns the “pathinaaru kettu”, breaks the silence, asking: “What was man born for? To smear his life with all imaginable evils and make his own peace complicated. Speaking from the vantage point of a simpleton, man is supposed to work hard, eat moderately, and sleep in peace. What a parody he’s turned divine creation into? His own misdoings have forced divine forces to penalise him with diseases.”

A devout Christian, Jillian crosses her hand across the heart and says, “The frailty of creation is hidden in the plurality of every form of culture and religion. This plurality has attained such a humongous form that getting a flock of billions in agreement looks like an unsolvable riddle for eternity. Even Christ is likely to take a nap for eternity. His second coming is for all to see in the retribution being handed out to man.”

Manuel Glass is a believer, but he finds Appan Namboodiry and Jillian’s talk on the problem of plurality of faiths a little naive as the duo forgot to shed light on the towering menace of terrorism and racial hatred disguising as religious flashpoints. He says, “Convincing the common man from different religions to cross over to a new governance experiment may not be as contentious as softening the fire-breathing hardliners of the extremist variety. We need to have a coherent plan of dialogue with such extremists before even hazarding the possibility of burning our hands and causing bigger bloodsheds in the name of peace.”

Maintaining his composure throughout the conversation, Etios smiles and says, “Everything will happen peacefully. How? Let me explain. What do you think of the world’s greatest inventions, starting with language of the first man? There’s an ingenious thought going into every invention, be it the humble radio, TV, landline and mobile phones, computer, different types of sophisticated medical equipment, electrical and mechanical appliances, robotics, and so on. This thought isn’t that of a man. It’s wired into man’s head by demi-urges. Being a master of Tai Chi, I know what it means to delve into the ‘inner self’ for clear answers to our day to day problems. Tai Chi masters of yore have never revealed this to communities not attuned to disciplining of the mind, body, and soul. But today, my inner voice (demi-urge) says I need to wage an intellectually superior war against marauders and power barons who oppress tender-hearted innocents to make a lavish life for themselves.”

Spiritual adepts like the 19th century Austrian-German philosopher Rudolf Steiner, too, talked of thinking as different from the thought-generating agency, Etios says, adding that his theory of a precept (rule of thought) precedes the creation of a concept in a subject’s mind, and it is this concept that leads him to the object (desired end). “We are proceeding with our movement only because of the ability of the demi-urges to seize, control, and alter the thinking of any man. In effect, what we are doing is nothing but an enactment of a drama to reach the desired goal, a moneyless global order that will see the efflorescence of love and equality in all forms of life. What would start as a mind-altering activity would ultimately result in appreciation from all around as we will dole out all that is necessary for a just life.”  
Daaren brings a finer dimension to the conversation by pointing out the systems of transparency and accountability being nursed by lifeisamonkey.com. “We plan to set up five schools across all communities across the world: a school of theosophy, a school of knowledge, a school of vocations, a school of entertainment, and a school of technology respectively.”

School of Theosophy

This school will be run by spiritually wise men well-versed in the scriptures of different faiths. People will be allowed to follow a faith of their choice, but they will be instructed to respect fellowmen of other faiths. Butchering of animals for food or any form of sacrifice will be discontinued, thereby ending discord over ethical treatment of animals. There won’t be any question of opposition as butchers will be “softened” in due course.

School of knowledge

There won’t be mindless learning anymore. There will just be community nurseries where knowledge of the world and its elements would be imparted. The thrust will be on preserving the beauty of the world. There will be strong deterrents against pursuance of any kind of knowledge that will result in perversion of desire.

School of vocations

The idea is to foster only those forms of societal development that are meaningful in terms of keeping the human fabric intact. Only development initiatives involving food and clothing will be allowed. In other words, agriculture will be the only main profession in the world. Each family will be entitled to a certain quota of food in line with the equal work they do. There won’t be any classification of workers. All of them will be treated as first among equals.

School of entertainment

A voucher system will be generated whereby families can go to marketplaces and make purchases. They can watch movies for free and attend live music concerts all round the year. All forms of entertainment will be de-vulgarised and creativity will be limited to evoking peals of laughter.

School of technology

All forms of mechanical, electronic, and robotic communication will be maintained. The internet will serve as a window of reference to the flawed past, sensitising people on the aesthetics of a good life.  
Summing up thus, Daaren breaks into a laughter saying, “Lifeisamonkey.com is all about teaching man to be the gentle ape he once was.”

A beaming Etios explains that these schools have already been given form in various parts of the world. “Reshma and the 50-odd children here will be given lessons in accordance with their power of understanding. The schools will not only teach children but also adults. We are liberating all children and women trapped in beggary, flesh trade, and other forms of evil and giving them a life of dignity.”


	7. Lifeisamonkey.com's final assault

February 1, 2047 A.D.

In a space of five months, the agents of lifeisamonkey.com set off the disappearance of more personalities from powerful positions across the world, sparking among news establishments the speculation of a newer kind of revolt against the global comity of nations. The shadow outfit confirms fears of a new world war by distributing videos that castigate the world order for continually causing deeper gulfs between men of strength and sections of weak. 

“Those enjoying the trappings of power have only one aim in life – that of exploiting the subjects for their own advantages. These top order power mongers concoct a society of unequals where society’s bottom pyramid people, writhing in the pain wrought by varied forms of inequity, end up becoming the means and tools of business for all those nestled in the top rung, turning life into a kaleidoscope of emotions that has no real sense of empathy. To bring this cycle of exploitation to an end, many of the erstwhile top workhorses of ruling powers have decided to join hands with lifeisamonkey.com, an outfit wedded to the idea of equals in society. Humans should be treated as ends in themselves. Their well-being should the goal. They should not be a means to an end, the purpose of achieving something else that puts their life in harm’s way or jeopardy. Self-preservation and attainment of happiness are the greatest needs of man. So, give only that to others what you give yourself. The present systems of governance are causing the death of many of my poor people. Let me give back death to these systems, and organise a natural flow of life based on the highest morals of goodwill and love,” says Jillian Hughes in a video handed out to BBC. 

Jillian’s sudden reappearance in a new avatar causes an uneasy calm among the super powers, each of whom have been battling with their own problems of governance with their top workhorses relinquishing jobs for a greater cause. The hawks scramble in search of a solution to the impending threat. In response to repeated inquiries from the FBI and espionage establishments of various countries about the existence of lifeisamonkey.com, internet search engine behemoth Google and its counterparts come up with the same finding after many rounds of intensive probes: that the outfit was registered as a stealthy global startup promising a “revolutionary, personalized, secure chat experience and enhanced speed in internet searches”. 

“Operating with their own multiple server networks across the world, their system is resistant to all kinds of hacking. This is a first in the history of internet and we are already witnessing an unprecedented surge in malware activity across webpages of top government entities and industry brands because of lifeisamonkey.com,” says a joint statement of the internet companies.

A day after the joint statement, the global internet machine of search engine giants comes to a grinding halt, with lifeisamonkey.com taking absolute charge of every user activity on the net. Search queries of myriad kind on the internet across all countries return with unique lifeisamonkey.com webpages in the results, each detailing the flawed history of man and calling for complete surrender of power to the outfit. For instance, web searches irrespective of keywords lead users to a page that reads: “The Great Pelepponesian War is the greatest war in the history of mankind. Fought over 2,000 years ago in the cradle of Greek city states, the war exposed the futility and follies of politicians. Greek General Thucydides’ book, named after the war, is testament to the evil workings of politics. So why do we still submit ourselves to anarchists and corruptors? It’s time for a change, time for a new epoch. Lifeisamonkey.com will teach you how to live a simple, just life.” Other web searches also lead users to pages promising a new, free life under the wise elders of lifeisamonkey.com.

Google and its counterparts try to fix the problems by rewriting the malicious codes in the backend architecture of the internet, but in vain. In a few hours, the world witnesses another sweeping change: that of switching on mobile and computer devices the usual way, as lifeisamonkey.com overrides their initial processors and operating systems and introduces its own manual on the mobile and computer startup process. Global business and internet communication come to a standstill with lifeisamonkey.com rising as an unbridled technological power. Volunteers of lifeisamonkey.com get busy extolling the virtues of demi-urges and an easy-spirited life to every establishment in the world. 

In a dialogue with the top honchos of Google and its counterparts in New York, Etios says, “All of you have birthed a monster in the name of internet. All you make is money in the name of service. You have enslaved people by making them leave outdated technologies and depend on a capricious machine that breeds more of filth and less of goodness. Your time is over. Now, it will be a machine of goodness.”

Elsewhere, teams of lifeisamonkey.com negotiate with terrorists and power barons for complete surrender, saying that they are powerless against the demi-urges within them. All oppositions and aggressive posturing by government leaders and extremists are met with hostile bodily activity from within, making them capitulate in fear. Around this time, member countries of the United Nations Organisation convene an emergency summit in New York to deliberate on a strategy to quell rebellion by lifeisamonkey.com. But thousands of agents of lifeisamonkey.com surface like a flash mob and overpower security personnel, only to storm the UN headquarters and the meeting venue. The “peacenik rebels” remind every member country of the UN of the injustices that have been perpetrated by governments of the world over the ages. Etios announces, “Anyone daring to take us on will be decimated. We have control over all the nuclear warheads of the world. Our organisation, Lifeisamonkey.com, is the most technically advanced group in the world. Our agents will not let the governments of the world perpetuate corruption for another day. We want the death of world politics. Any wrong move on your part will only cause mass destruction of humanity. We are ready to die and kill everyone for our cause – a moneyless world society whose sole currency will be love. 

“We humans need not scratch our heads again for more knowledge, money, or development. We do not need more head-splitting philosophies on governance and the governed. We don’t need to be rocket scientists looking for life in Mars when we can’t live together properly on Earth. Too much of knowledge has only added to chaos. The day we show some semblance of mind control by keeping ourselves contained in the simple happiness of life, some unknown, hidden force will unveil itself and tell us the story of our origins and future.”

Each representative of the UN senses an internal revolt in their bodies and minds even as they listen to Etios. In the end, they raise their hands as a mark of surrender and communicate the message to their heads of government. Shortly after their meek surrender, Etios beckons his tech nerds for a global broadcast of an impromptu conference marking the change of guard in world order. As the shutterbug calls for action, Etios says, “The Yin and Yang forces of Mother Earth have finally dissolved the illusion of being polarities. In reality, they were always in unity. Any smart arrangement of life and life forms and art and artforms only underline the divine order of things in this universe. It was man’s duty to think well and do good to all in one stroke. Today is the day. But even this triumph over the evils wrought by debased men couldn’t have been possible without the intervention of demi-urges.

“Every famous personality and accomplished human this world has seen only mirrored the designs of greater spirit beings. Every lesson in art and culture only reminded man the value of togetherness. But he failed miserably in this game of creation. He never learnt that freedom begins with unshackling from vices and evil. We liberate mankind today with the yearning to hold hands with our real parents (spirits) for an endless time. There won’t be any more trials and subjugation to diseases. If you are ready to be a dutiful child, the spirits will joyously play the role of a responsible, felicity-giving parent. Lastly, thank you for the money. It sustained us this long despite its misgivings,” adds Etios.

Global news machines go silent as every citizen of the world rushes to become a member of lifeisamonkey.com. The website hosts multiple discussion boards where personalities such as Jillian Hughes quell the fears of people by promising to provide them a just life. In one of the discussion boards, she says, “Gone are the days of martyrs. Live easy. When you lead, your significant other will follow, and when he leads, you will have to follow. That’s a simple equation of give and take.”

In another discussion board, Falak Ali, the former Chief Minister of Delhi, says: “We will end all forms of education that make no sense. Stand together in everything you do and the universe will teach you what to do next.”

To everyone’s surprise, James Madison, the President of United States, says in one of the message boards, “There will be no more bullying by any kind of Uncle Sam. We are going to play real loving uncles to our children.”

Within a day, people quit jobs. Their children quit schools and other institutions of dubious learning. And the corridors of power go empty. Governments die, with none of the past leaders making an effort to run a faulty system of governance again. Led by altruistic thoughts, people return to their innocence while animal spirits pounce on anyone who isn’t ready to give up sinister designs for selfish ends. 

Lifeisamonkey.com also makes people understand the ultimate philosophy of “Metempsychosis” (the transmigration of a soul into another human or animal’s body). “The true meaning behind the philosophy of Metempsychosis is the art of creating peace for tomorrow’s world by living in peace today,” Dragon spirits tell millions of people. Crime mafiosis, henchmen, and shady cousins turn into schizophrenics battling nightmarish thoughts and erratic body behaviour that make them whimper like a puppy. “Keep flashing bloody images of their own crimes in their heads and threaten them with dangerous consequences,” Mr. Rat tells soft-hearted Rabbit spirits.

As material life in villages, towns, and cities go into a tailspin, scores of people take to the streets in different countries, strewing currency notes on the wayside and celebrating their freedom from the shackles of a hellish past. On the streets, these people meet volunteers of Lifeisamonkey.com who assure them saying, “Agriculture and household-oriented utilitarian services are all that we humans need. Food is the new God for which everyone has to toil equally. Entertainment should be reduced to games and get-togethers, with the curtain coming down on all vulgar artforms. In all that we do, we need to keep our animal farm unviolated and intact.”

Faith-inspired surrenders, coercive manipulation of thoughts, and physical arrests finally reach a critical mass, with all of mankind falling in line over the next two days. And the totemic animal experiment thus enters a new phase of evolution. Congratulating brother-in-arms, jubilant Rat spirits hum a song that goes, “Open your eyes. Look up to the skies and see. The Sun is showering its splendour on me. This, dear friends, is the Age of Aquarius. We are done with the precarious, O’victorious.”


End file.
